Family & Friends Or Is It Relationships - What Do I Really Value?

Recently I facilitated Legacy Journaling at a local library and we began with a favorite activity of mine called What Matters. The activity is based on the book What Matters by Rod Zeeb and Cam Thornton. (it’s a great read – AFTER chapter 1, in my opinion, so hang in there when you read it because it does provide an effective way to share your values with those you love and thank the ones who helped you develop them over the years)

The desired outcome of the What Matters activity is to provide time for you to think about and reflect on what matters most to you in your life. At the library that day, several attendees were brave and shared a story from their list with the group. There were also some real "ah-ha moments" and individuals who had a chance to connect the dots and understand who and/or what situation provided the importance of that value for them in their life. All of this in less than 60 minutes.

Here are the 3 simple steps we took:
1) They titled their page with two words: “WHAT MATTERS” and then I asked them to look at those two words and below it write down whatever comes to mind.

2) After they had their initial list of 5-10 items, the second step was to create their definition for each word or phrase listed…in THEIR OWN WORDS. This is a key step within the activity. Words have different meanings to different people. So I asked them to imagine describing the item to their significant other, friend, child, or loved one. What would they say? And what is so important about that item that it made their list?

3) For each item, I asked them to remember how they initially learned about this important item in their life? From whom? Were there multiple influences? Where did they see or experience it? What is a story they can share about this item to illustrate how it became to be so important?

And what I can tell you about my experience after doing this activity several times over the years, my list has evolved and I realized that it’s not just Family & Friends who matter to me…what matters is the relationships have with family, friends, etc... What about you?

A challenge for you on this 24thday of April…take the time in the next 72 hours to walk through these 3 steps and reflect on WHAT MATTERS to you. And then before Spring is in full bloom share your list with your loved ones and personally thank those who have instilled values in you!